Dear America- Believe As You Wish, Live As You Choose...But You Don't Get To Pass Judgment

Stop acting like you have the right to discriminate against others because you disapprove of how they live

I suffer from a unique genetic condition. It's called Dumbass Syndrome and, unfortunately, there's no cure.

• Ava Gray

Beginning in 2015, though there were plenty of hints before that, Americans began to succumb to stupid in large numbers. Whether it was conspiracy theories like QAnon, Far Right-wing politicians offering simple, pat answers to complex problems, or racist American Taliban assholes; things began to deteriorate in a helluva hurry.

People began looking less for solutions and more for someone to blame. Politicians sensed that and Right-wing “populists” began to offer up scapegoats. The list was as long as it was speculative and inaccurate- Muslims, Blacks, transgender people, the LGBTQ community, Liberals- there was always someone to blame.

It was never about the Party of Personal Responsibility taking responsibility and promising to do better. No, it was about casting blame and ensuring that the burden was placed on the collective shoulders of a voiceless group lacking the political heft to defend itself.

Political bullying became the rage with the ascent of a particular orange-hued shit gibbon into the White House. His supporters, who hung on his every word as if it were Gospel, regarded him as if he’d been Divinely inspired.

Honesty and integrity became afterthoughts, something that was expected only of Democrats, but no longer from Republicans, especially from the GOP’s God-King/President. He could say what he wanted- and engaged in more than 30,000 blatant lies during his four years in office- and no one in the mainstream media dared call him out.

Now that he’s running for the White House again, the fire hose of lies continues apace. It’s looking again as if Democratic integrity will be scrutinized to the nth degree while that of Republicans will be allowed to slide as if it doesn’t matter…because it doesn’t.

We live in a country where the gulf between red and blue is so vast that there’s now no hope of even agreeing on a standard set of facts because those facts depend on where one gets their news and information. Red voters watch Fox News and take what they see and hear as Gospel, even though it’s been well-established that Fox News is far more Right-wing propaganda than news.

(On the night The Former Guy was indicted in Miami, Fox News ran a chyron referring to Joe Biden as a “wannabe dictator.” This from the cable news network that’s always claimed to be “fair and balanced.”)

Even CNN has begun drifting ever farther Right in its editorial content. Once firmly committed to being a centrist option for news consumers, there’s no disputing that they’re now much closer to Fox News than MSNBC.

MSNBC personalities may lean overwhelmingly Left, but at least they do their homework. There’s no equivalent to Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson spouting angry rhetoric intended to pump up viewership and ad rates.

Admittedly, I’m not the most objective observer when evaluating cable news channels, but I don’t think it takes someone with a Ph.D. to see what’s happening in the marketplace. From where I sit, MSNBC relies on intelligent, well-sourced, and credible analysis- which is more than can often be said for Fox News and, to a lesser degree, CNN.

In a perfect world, cable news would be news and information free of spin and ideology. But we all know that we live in a decidedly imperfect world and that imperfect human beings run cable channels. Sometimes, they decided to pander to a specific demographic to keep their advertising rates at a certain level.

Because of business considerations, news has become commoditized. It’s a profit-and-loss business; you have to attract eyeballs to lure advertisers, and if your ad rates are too low, you won’t make much money. Of course, that means your stock price will tank, and…well, you know how that goes.

The news business isn’t really about the news. It’s a business, first and foremost. The news and information part of the equation is the meat in the sandwich. It’s what attracts viewers, but it’s not what keeps them.

Fox News didn’t become America's #1 cable news channel by emulating Walter Cronkite.

In a sense, the seeds for our current dilemma were planted by Rupert Murdoch in 1996 and cultivated by the late Roger Ailes. For them, it was never about objective journalism. It was ALWAYS about advancing a Right-wing narrative using news and journalism as a vehicle. It was camouflaging yellow journalism as THE NEWS.

“WE REPORT, YOU DECIDE” and the other taglines used by Fox News to promote itself were never about advancing objective journalism. It was only and always about creating a Right-wing echo chamber that would validate what older, lesser-educated, White Conservative Christian heterosexuals already believed.

It’s about confirmation bias.

That was why Fox executives were so upset when the network called Arizona for Joe Biden on Election Night 2020. They were afraid of upsetting their viewers, who were overwhelmingly and fervently pro-The Former Guy and couldn’t stomach the idea that their guy could lose.

Essentially, Fox executives admitted that night that they’d helped to create a cohort of Americans who lived in an alternate-reality bubble and would erupt if and/or when that bubble was punctured. They’d lived for so long off the Right-wing propaganda fed to them by Fox News talking heads that they’d lost any attachment to reality.

Not that the yawning gulf between red and blue America is solely the creation of Fox News, though they bear a good deal of responsibility for it. It’s just that red America has chosen to cling to their God and their guns and their belief that the rest of America is a godforsaken, lawless hellhole. They believe what they believe and are convinced that The Former Guy was sent to them by Almighty God and anointed by Him to do great things for America.

Never mind that The Former Guy is a faithful Christian like I’m an All-Pro NFL quarterback.

Yeah, I’d defy anyone to tell me when he was last in a church for an occasion that wasn’t a wedding or a funeral.

I don’t expect Americans in red states to come around to my way of thinking any time soon, but I don’t think it’s too much to expect them to focus on getting their own houses in order before they start discriminating against others. Simply being White Conservative Christian heterosexuals is apropos of nothing. It makes them superior to no one.

As an atheist, I don’t care what Christians think of me. If they respect me, I’ll return the factor. Likewise, thinking less of me because I don’t bow to their imaginary friend isn’t a shortcut to my heart. But, be a good person, treat people with respect and dignity, and you can be on my team anytime.

(News flash: There is no “transgender agenda.” You’re just looking for a way to raise money and make yourself look as if you’re relevant. You’re not; all you are is an ignorant, self-righteous, faux-Christian bigot and hater. You know nothing of the Gospel.)

I firmly believe that, at some level, we all want what’s best for our country. It’s just that some folks spend far too much time and energy focusing on others instead of getting themselves together. Whatever happened to live and let live? Whether someone is transgender, Black, atheist, or a Packers fan should have no impact on anyone else. So stop acting like you have the right to discriminate against others because you disapprove of how they live.

America is supposed to be a place where a person can let their freak flag fly. No one should have to conform to anyone else’s idea of what’s “right,” “proper,” or “moral.”

Believe as you wish. Live as you choose. Remember that your right to pass judgment ends at the tip of your nose because others have the same rights you demand. And how they choose to live, love, think, and/or believe will have no material impact on the quality of your life.